No one likes to lose independence, but age, illness, and disabilities can impact our ability to care for ourselves. Sometimes, personal care and support may be just what you need to live more comfortably and independently.
When you know how to access adult care services, you can engage the right support at the right time to allow you to plan ahead, make good choices, and enjoy your life. You can buy your own care, but Newcastle City Council can also support you in getting the help you need.
Determining whether you need care and support, and what services would best help you, can be confusing. However, if you’re having trouble with daily tasks like getting bathed and dressed, preparing meals, remembering medications, using a telephone, getting on and off of furniture, going up and down stairs, or generally getting around, you may have care and support needs.
Maybe they’re short-term needs, related to an illness or disability. They could also be long-term needs, due to a medical condition or simply the ageing process.
The first step in getting support is a care and support assessment from the council.
What’s involved with a care and support assessment?
The Council will ask you questions that will help determine the type and extent of services you need to allow you to live independently, determine whether you are eligible for paid support from the Council, and provide information and advice about locally available social care and support. This assessment can be performed online or by contacting Community Health and Social Care Direct. You can request an assessment for yourself or for someone you believe could benefit from this process.
An assessment is designed to fulfil the Council’s legal duty to establish your eligibility for social care services. To this end, questions are asked about your support needs and your finances. The Council staff carries out the assessment in your home or another appropriate place, and will want to know what you are doing that is working, what is causing you to struggle, how you are managing everyday tasks, what is most important to you, and what support is already in place, whether through family, neighbours, or the NHS. You are allowed to have someone with you to support you and provide their own views on your situation. The person you choose could be your carer, a family member or friend, or someone else that you trust. If you don’t have someone to help you and you are concerned that you will find the assessment process difficult, the Council can arrange for an advocate to attend your assessment and help you to express your views.
During the assessment, you will be asked questions about your daily routines, personal care, meals, home maintenance, ability to get out and about, capacity to look after children who are your responsibility, and your socialisation. Your eligibility for NHS continued healthcare funding will be considered, as well. Once the assessment is complete and it’s been established that you are eligible for support, a financial assessment will be organised, if needed, you will be given information and advice, and a personal care and support plan will be created.
If you prefer, you can arrange home care support for yourself. However, it can be arranged by the Council for anyone who is eligible. This care involves help with personal hygiene and dressing, eating and drinking, house cleaning, and laundry. You may also need support with keeping up with your medication, getting through the night successfully, or getting to an activity or outdoors. Some people choose to engage a personal assistant who can help manage their personal care as well as assist them in accessing community facilities and social or educational activities. You can hire an assistant on your own or go through Disability North, for help writing and advertising the post.
Hiring an assistant is not the only path towards receiving services. In fact, there are a number of services available to you, to provide you with the support you need to remain independent.
- Day services are reopening after the lockdown. Care centres are following the national guidelines to keep everyone safe, but this means the capacity for attendance is much lower than it has been in the past. The goal is to allow as many people as possible can get the help they need, and there are services that allow you to attend for a day or two during the week. This gives you support and helps you interact socially with others, and it also gives respite to a family member, friend, or carer who helps you to meet your needs at home.
- There are many simple services that will make your life more enjoyable and allow you to continue to live independently. Perhaps you need help with cleaning and housework, or maybe you just need help with shopping, errands, and prescriptions. There are all sorts of Council-supported services available to meet your needs, whether it’s a team coming to your house to help with housework, someone to drive you to the shops, or home delivery of essential items. We can help you locate charities and organisations that offer laundry services, or connect you with a service that delivers hot meals to your home. Newcastle City Council also provides reablement care and support, to help you remain independent at home.
- There are home adaptations, as well as equipment and aids, which can help keep you safe and independent. You may simply need minor adaptations around your home, like lever taps in the kitchen, a ramp to your front door, or handrails strategically located throughout your home. On the other hand, major adaptations may be required, like widening doorways, installing a downstairs shower room, or lowering your kitchen worktops. You can check out this factsheet from Age UK England on adapting your home, for more information. You might also need equipment to help you with your day-to-day life. Things like grab rails, bath boards, and raised toilet seats can help you with your personal care and hygiene, and walking sticks or handrails can help you safely move around your home. A bed raiser can help you get up and down safely, and lever taps and adapted kitchen utensils can help you continue to prepare food at home.
- Alarms and telecare equipment are useful for keeping you safe. It can be frightening to consider what would happen if you fell ill suddenly or had an accident when you were home alone. Personal alarm systems and telecare can ease your worries by providing you with 24-hour monitoring and support. When you have the peace of mind that comes with knowing there is 24-hour response at the click of a button, it can help you to be more confident in your ability to continue to live independently.
How will you pay for your care?
Unlike healthcare services, care services are not free. However, you may be eligible for support, which is why the Council performs a financial assessment. During this assessment, your necessary level of care, income from all sources, and the property you own will all be taken into account. The contribution you will be required to make towards your own care is based on the amount of capital you have, so some people will pay a little bit, and some will be responsible for the entire cost of care and support services. If you feel your financial assessment came back with the wrong results, you can file a complaint and have it reviewed.
Organising care at home via the council can be complicated, but when you’re looking for affordable private home care in Newcastle, Shine Care At Home is here to help. For over ten years, Shine Care At Home has been providing specialist, person-centred at-home and live-in care services for people with care needs, to give those people and their families the peace of mind that comes with knowing they’re being well cared for.
Providing high-quality service based on connection, kindness, and compassion, we offer live-in care services, dementia care services, personal care services, older person companion care services and respite care services in Newcastle, exceeding standards and expectations to help our clients live their best possible lives. For more information about our services, call 0191 488 3413 or contact us today.